Bloody Black
by QuestionedIdentities
Summary: He loved her with all his heart, confided with her all those years, only to find out she was a terror to humanity. Armin's recollection of his romance with Annie.
1. A Threat to Humanity

"I'm hurt."

He watched, his blue eyes watching her every movement, every muscle in her body shake with her displeasure, her own sharp eyes staring right back at him. Even though her voice seemed emotionless her eyes screamed out, readying to burst with tears, "When did you start looking at me that way. . . Armin?"

His hands were shaking, clutching the flare gun as if were the only protection he had against this woman, this woman that he was so desperate to prove wrong. His blonde hair stuck to his forehead, sweating beading off ever so slightly. He was nervous, there was no doubt about it. From the beginning he knew it was going to end like this, but deep down in his heart he had hoped he was wrong. "Why, Annie? You had Marco's maneuver gear. . ."

Her eyes blinked, but her face remained stone, expressing little emotion. He knew though, that's always how she was. The trick were her eyes, those ice blue eyes that over the years he had come to love, come to learn. . . the icy blue crystals that showed what lay deep in her soul.

He continued, "I knew every little scratch, every little ding. He and I, used to repair it together. I knew it as soon as I saw it."

She looked away, no longer content or comfortable to look him straight in the eye, "I see. I just happened to have found it. . ."

He could feel pain rush through his molars and he noticed he was grinding his teeth, a habit he had picked up when he was stressed. Loosening his jaw a bit, allowing the strain off his teeth he questioned, "Did you kill the two titans then?!"

"Who knows. . ."

Blunt, straight to the point. He had hoped for something more, hoping she would make excuses and that all would be forgiven. But no. Instead, she looked away, unable to utter a word while looking straight at him. His heart sank. All those years, all those nights. . . it felt like she simply cast them off with her words. Why had it come to this?

"If you knew, why didn't you say something a month ago, hmm?"

"Because I wanted to believe in you!" He almost screamed, his lungs hurt with how quick he was to react, "I wanted to believe that my eyes were wrong, that I was wrong!"

He could see those beautiful eyes of hers peek back at him, the pain still lacing them like lingering dust. She looked ashamed, guilty, and of course, hurt. The look on her face almost made him feel bad, wanting to walk up those few flights and embrace her, apologizing for his words.

He knew that it wasn't going to end like that though.

"What about you though Annie? You didn't kill me when you had the chance, that's why this is happening now."

Her eyes darted away again, "Yeah. . . I never expected you to go this far. Why didn't I kill you then. . .?"

His heart pounded loudly in his chest, he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. She never expected him to push this far? What had she expected then?! For years she had known his plans, to join Eren in the Survey Corps, to continue to fight for humanity, to rid the world of Titans! Did she think that just because it was her that things would change?

"Annie!" He almost jumped at the voice, his head spinning to look at Eren. . . he had almost forgotten that they weren't alone. . . that Eren and Mikasa were standing there during the whole exchange. "Stop being some idiot and cut the crap! You have a shitty sense of humour! Get down here now! You can prove us wrong just by taking a few steps, come on!"

She almost seemed to flinch at his words, her arm reaching over to grab the other one, crossing across her chest as if attempting to cover herself, "I can't. . . I have failed to become a warrior."

Eren almost seemed to spit at her words as he stepped forward, reaching out to her with his words and his body, "This isn't funny."

His blue eyes began to tear up as he turned to look at her again, "Let's talk Annie! We can still talk! Let's fix this!"

"That's enough!" A harsh woman's voice emitted behind him and Mikasa ripped off her cloak, tugging at the blades she had sheathed, "I can't listen to this bullshit anymore! I'm going to rip your muscles open all over again Female Titan!"

Thos beautiful blue eyes seemed to sparkle as she spun her head to watch the trio again, a small smile splitting her lips apart as she began to laugh, a beautiful coat of red blush crossing her cheeks and nose. It was a beautiful face that tug at his heartstrings, a face and a laugh that he loved, the blush across her cheeks almost something he had worshipped.

"Armin." He stopped, looking up at her, his now teary eyes staring at her ice blue eyes, tears now pouring down her cheeks as well, "I'm glad I could be a good person for you. You won this game. But, this is where mine begins."

She began to raise her hand, readying to bite into her skin and transform and without hesitating he raised the flare gun out of the entrance, shooting outwards into the sky. The look in her eyes still pained, one that probably reflected his own pain.

_Where did things turn wrong? When did it end up like this?_


	2. Annie

How long ago was it, that he first laid eyes on her?

Armin could remember the day like the back of his hand; it was beautiful, sunny and gorgeous, the weather treated them nicely with rays of sun that kissed their skin into gold and embraced them in its warmth. It was their first day in training to become fully fledged military members. Their brand new boots were already dusty with the dirt and soil that they kicked up as they stood row and row to be greeted by their instructor Keith Shadis.

He was a frightening man that shook the bones in Armin's very body. His eyes seemed to be full of pain and pride. . . understandable, Armin has heard that he was once the commander of the Survey Corps. Armin watched as he made his way down the rows of trainees, surveying their bodies, their eyes, trying to feast on the weak willed. Of course, as he neared Armin he knew deep down in his heart that he was going to be a target for the man. Upon reaching him, Shadis yelled, spitting into Armin's face about how he was a nobody before violently spinning him around to face his other team mates, and that's when he saw her.

She was beautiful, almost god like and Armin could feel his face grow hot before he darted his eyes away, hoping that she didn't notice him watching her. Occasionally he took peeks at her, trying to absorb the bits and pieces of her that he could catch. She was short, but well built, obviously molded to be a top performer in the military. Her hair was a beautiful soft blonde that draped into side swept bangs over her right eye and pulled back into a knot behind her head. Her face was shaped with high cheek-bones and a sharp nose, but it was her eyes that drew him in. They were the colour of the sky and stunning in appearance, but for some reason, they seemed so sad and sullen. . . something he was surprised to see. Armin couldn't think of anyone else that had eyes like she did, ones that were so sad and so full of pain.

Without realizing it, he found himself staring and before long the young girl noticed, turning her head slightly, blinking at him with anger laced in her eyes. Armin's own eyes grew wide as he turned to look straight forward again, the blush apparent on his cheeks. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the girl relax a bit and returning to her position as Keith Shadis returned to put down Armin some more, his face scrunched in disappointment as he spat, "Why so red Arlert? The sun bothering you already?"

The first day was over and the sun began it's way unto the horizon and the trainees (minus one girl who was caught snacking during their orientation) were allowed inside to have their dinner. Mikasa and Eren made themselves at home in a far corner upon receiving their meal and Armin was quick to follow suit behind them, dropping his tray of soup and bread onto the smooth wood of the table. It seemed so normal, oddly enough, same routine, different scenery. Eren was already stuffing his face and Mikasa was slowly eating hers bit by bit, her eyes glued to Eren, afraid he was going to choke on his quick eating habits. Armin picked as he food, barely listening to the words that flitted between the duo as he watched the door, eyeing the trainees as they paraded in for their meals. He knew who he was looking for, that blonde woman with those beautiful blue eyes. Armin had hoped during their orientation that he would find out what her name was, hear her speak, but Shadis determined that she wasn't worth berating and skipped her over entirely.

As the recruits began to drizzle in less and less he grew disappointed, his heart sinking slightly with every person that came in that wasn't her. It's like she didn't seem to exist, and Armin just imagined her earlier.

"Hey! Armin!" Eren's voice rang through his ears and Armin turned to look at the brunette, who had a look of concern on his face, "You've been out of it all evening! Is something the matter?"

Armin laughed, blushing slightly as he waved one hand as if trying to push of Eren's concern, "Ahh! No! It's just been a long day you know. I guess I'm just a bit tired."

Eren tilted his head a little bit, his green eyes narrowing as Mikasa piped up, "Heat stroke?"

"No no! I'm fine!" Armin squeaked out, a little too slowly, Eren was already panicking, trying to get the acknowledgement of the supervisors that littered the mess hall, convinced by a few single words that Armin was indeed suffering from standing out in the sun all day. He was unstoppable when he got an idea in his head, and sadly, this was one of those situations.

Almost as fast as Eren's panic, a supervisor was practically dragging Armin out of the dining hall and towards the infirmary. There was no point in trying to convince everyone that he was okay at this point, the supervisor seemed just as frantic as Eren had been. As they headed down the hall he would place his hand on Armin's head, saying that he did seem really hot and his cheeks were very red. . . not because of the sun though, Armin was simply embarrassed. All this fuss over nothing. . .

They reached the infirmary and the supervisor swung the door open, ushering Armin inside, advising him to speak to the nurse about his symptoms before shutting the door abruptly behind him. Armin sighed, listening to the footsteps of the man retreating down the hall before spinning to face the nurse. . .

However, there wasn't one.

Instead he faced a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and sad, ice blue eyes, one that had plagued him the entire evening. It was her.

He was taken aback as he stared at her, eyes wide, trying to determine if the image was real or not. She sat on a stool, looking as if she was content with the room, watching Armin with curiosity and disgust. Her eyes darted from the door, to him before standing up off the stool. She was a tad shorter then him, but not by a lot and her footsteps seemed silent as she took a few steps towards him, "You're that guy from earlier."

Armin blushed at her words, her voice was cute and soft, a bit of a contrast to her sharp looks and seemingly personality. He had hoped that when he did finally meet her it was going to be some quick hellos surrounded by the rest of the trainees, instead, they were alone, and the subject she had brought up, awkward and embarrassing for Armin.

She seemed to notice his discomfort and retreated back to the stool, plopping herself on with ease, her eyes still lingering on him.

"I. . . think I have heat stroke. So my friends sent me here." Armin said, his words slow and meticulous, as if unsure with what to say. He wasn't sure why he said he thought he had heatstroke, Armin knew he didn't, but for some reason he felt like it was probably just for the best to run with it. . . rather then seem like he was making excuses.

She cocked an eyebrow with his words, a small smile forming on her lips as she shared her own complaint, "Headache. I get them often. Nice enough though. . . no evening duties for us."

Armin was about to continue, but was interrupted by the door opening, a nurse dressed in a long white coat walking in, clipboard in hand, "Alright. I got the pills for you Annie. You are excused from any evening duties as per Shadis. Oh! Sorry! And you are?"

The woman, now referring to Armin watched him as Armin snapped quickly, "Armin Arlert. Heat stroke, ma'm."

The nurse began to fuss, speaking quickly about finishing up with Annie and for Armin to lie down, but he didn't really notice much that came from her mouth. Annie. The girls name was Annie. It was a cute name, it seemed to suit her. He smiled to himself as the nurse pushed him towards a small cot, trying to get him to lie down. He snuck a quick peek back at Annie as she made her way out of the room, and noticed that she too was looking back at him with those icy blue eyes of hers. Upon noticing him watching her she quickly snapped her head forward and left the room, obviously uncomfortable that she had been caught.

She didn't seem the friendliest of people, but for some reason Armin found himself drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. Was it her stoic personality, that soft blonde hair. . . or possibly the hurt and pain that he could see in those beautiful blue eyes of hers? A feeling that he just wanted to hold her and let her know everything would be okay, that the world wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Even so, he found the rest of his evening absorbed by her. Her name ringing through his ears like a windchime.

Annie.

Annie.

Annie.


	3. Different and Beautiful

"I don't know why you are interested in things like this, Armin." Annie's voice rang through the small library that was owned by the Trainee Corps. It was a detached little building that many didn't visit; too focused on honing their battle skills instead of their brain.

Several weeks ago Armin had started going to the library alone, absorbed in the thousands upon thousands of books the room held. Would he ever be able to finish them before his training was over? Or would he be forced to leave them unattended and unfinished, following after Mikasa and Eren to their deaths?

Armin didn't like thinking that he might possibly leave one of these stories, these memoirs unfinished and would slink away after supper to read until the wee hours of the morning.

It was about a week ago when Armin started to spend his evening's with Annie. He headed to the library and opened the door, readying himself to continue a book he had started a fortnight ago, a book about a race of people that had died off a long time ago. As he stepped into the building he noticed that something was off, in the middle of the room at one of the tables was Annie, the blonde girl he couldn't keep off of his mind, haunting him in his sleep and keeping him awake at night, "Annie!"

The girl had turned, blinking her icy blue eyes at him before giving him a slow nod, turning to look back at the book Armin had left there the night prior, "This seems like some pretty complicated stuff in here. Is this really what you are into?"

Oddly enough, she spent the rest of the evening listening to him, excited to share the stories he had been reading with her. Mikasa and Eren never seemed to really care about the books, about the adventures he had read. . . it was refreshing to have someone listen. . . even if she was quiet for most of it. Armin couldn't tell if Annie was as interested as he was, but every night when he arrived at the library he found her sitting there, patiently waiting for him, his stories and his books.

That's why her question seemed odd.

"What do you mean?' Armin questioned, slipping a piece of paper into the pages of his current tome before closing it shut slowly. His own blue eyes interlocked with her ice blue ones, watching him intently as he continued, "Don't you ever wonder what it's like out there Annie? Outside the walls? What it was like before all of this."

One of her eyebrows cocked up while the rest of her expression seemed stoic. A subtle hint on her mood, over the weeks Armin had learned to read her quite well. . . she disagreed with his opinion. Armin smiled and let out a small laugh, his shoulders heaving into a small shrug, "I guess it all depends on the person. It's something I find interesting."

He stopped, leaning onto the table with his elbows, tapping his chin lightly before speaking up again, "Kind of how you like hand to hand combat."

Now her eyes grew slightly wider, her mouth opening slightly as if she was about to interject, but her voice stayed in her throat. This was one he rarely saw, she was thinking about what he just said, which meant that he had hit something with her. A small smile overcame his face, pushing his cheeks up and crinkling his eyes slightly, "You are thinking that I'm right aren't you?"

"No I'm not!"

Her voice was harsh, snapping through the quiet library like a cracking whip, her face back to that emotionless expression she usually wore. In her eyes though was embarrassment, embarrassed that Armin had read through her façade and was now pulling them out of her. She didn't like it and he knew he didn't, but he continued to do it anyway. . . but why? Annie snapped at him every single time, but he continued to prove he could read her emotions, her thoughts, because he wanted to prove he was different. . . was that it?

She always seemed surprised when things went this way, was she really that hard to interpret, did people really have that hard of a time predicting what was on the pretty blonde girls mind? He would have never admitted it to her, but he did find it kind of sad. She always seemed so lonely, was it because she was hard to understand, because she pushed everyone away when they got close enough?

If that was the case, why did Annie keep coming to the library every night, keep coming to visit with him, keeping coming to hear his stories? Was it a cry for help? Or was it simply that she had enough of people not being able to read her, that even though it angered her, she could appreciate Armin trying?

He could never ask her though. That would only push Annie farther and farther out of his reach. So far that no one would be able to touch her heart.

"I'm sorry." Armin spoke before pushing himself away from the table, getting out of his chair to stretch. "That was rude of me."

Annie's facial expression seemed to soften slightly as she shrugged, following Armin's suite and jumping off her perch from the table. It was time for them to leave and she knew that as much as he did. Almost every evening she had allowed him to walk her to the girls' quarters before parting ways, and once again, like every night it would end just like that.

They quietly made their way back to the main building, their feet kicking up dust as they slowly made their way over. It wasn't against any rules that they couldn't be up this late in the library. . . as long as they were awake for their duties and training in the morning no one would be breathing down their necks. It made the small stroll between the library and the sleeping quarters that much more pleasurable.

The walk was quiet most of the way, Annie only opting to speak upon entering the building, heading down the hall, "Armin?"

"Yeah?"

"You are right."

He blinked his blue eyes a few times, watching Annie out of the corner as they strode down the twisting corridors. She tilted her head slightly before speaking again, that cute voice of hers quiet, no echoes emitting down the empty hall, "Everyone has different interests. . . I just happen to have none in the outside world. It's pretty boring.

"It's a whole different and beautiful world out there, one that you and most of humanity are interested in. It's dangerous though, and that world can and will eat you alive. For that. . . I could care less."

_What?_ Armin found his heart racing as Annie spoke, his mind buzzing like trapped bees. What did she mean? Her words were oddly unsettling yet friendly at the same time. It was pleasant to hear that she happened to agree with him, but for some reason her agreement came with an uncomfortable feeling. What exactly did she mean? Why did her words seem unnerving, like she had seen the outside world already, words that seemed to say that she wasn't trapped in the past, but now she had requested to be caged.

"We're here."

Her words interrupted his thoughts, the duo now standing at the door that lead to the girls sleeping quarters. Armin's blue eyes rested on the door for a moment before sheepishly looking back at Annie, a small blush overcoming his face. She watched him with that stone-like gaze of hers, but he could tell that she was trying to figure out why he was acting strange, why he was taken aback by her words.

Trying to return to normal he lifted a small hand before giving her a small wave, "Well, have a good night Annie!"

She gave him a small nod before opening the door, ready to throw herself into bed and sleep in the next morning like she did almost every day. With that, Armin spun on his heel, heading to the boy's quarters, ready to sleep off his evening with Annie, her opening the door his cue to leave.

"Armin?"

He turned slightly to look at her, surprised that she spoke up, "Yes?"

"It really is beautiful though. You'll see it someday."

And with that she closed the door, leaving Armin alone in the hallway, his mind numb with Annie's voice, her words, her beautiful face and beautiful body. The echo of her words rocking him to sleep that evening.


	4. Drowning

"What?!" Disappointment flooded his boyish features as he glanced again at the poster hanging on the wall. Today was the king from the royal Fritz family's birthday, and in that a wide celebration was held all across the walls, like a holiday. Most of the trainee's were taking a trip to the nearby town, celebrating and watching the parades, a day off from training and duties. It was announced that a small few would be left behind to fulfill a minimal amount of duties, although Armin had assumed his chances of being left behind to work was slim as they amount that were staying behind versus the amount leaving to celebrate was a huge difference. There was no way he was going to be selected to stay and work.

Yet there was his name, sitting right next to kitchen duty.

Eren was laughing over his shoulder, reaching his hand over Armin's shoulder to poke at the scribbles that clearly said 'Armin Arlert', "Fuck Armin! You really do have the shittiest luck!"

"That. . . means I have to stay?"

"Looks like it!" Eren smirked, not even attempting to hold back his chuckling. Jackass. While Eren, Mikasa and the others got to go shopping, eat good food and watch the parade Armin was going to be stuck cleaning the kitchen and taking inventory. His baby blue eyes glanced over the page, attempting to find a familiar name, but there was none. He was alone in the kitchen regardless. The worst luck.

"Don't worry Armin! I'll bring you back something delicious!" Eren grinned before patting Armin on the shoulder a little too roughly before walking away with a small wave, Mikasa following close behind him. They were meeting up with the rest of the group before they were to head to the town, leaving Armin behind with the potatoes and oatmeal.

Really. The shittiest of luck.

The main chef's were all too eager to give Armin the list of duties he needed to fulfill for the day, readying themselves to head to the town with the rest of the recruits. They were easy and menial tasks, but Armin still found himself cross as he preformed them. Reorganize the potatoes, tossing the ones that began to rot into the compost to be sent to the fields, washing the floors, scrubbing the pots until they were clean. Armin took a break as he allowed one of the bigger pots to boil water over a large stove, trying to tempt the cooked on oatmeal from separating with the iron.

His nights in the library with Annie hadn't stopped, even after she got frustrated with him. Armin was thankful for that, enjoying the company of the petite blonde. Sometimes even during the day she would come sit with him for lunch before Mikasa and Eren came over. Eren was quick to notice Annie's appearance, asking if they were dating before teasing Armin after his cheeks turned a bright red.

Armin's feelings for the girl weren't questioned until after Eren began teasing him. How did he actually feel about her? Were they just friends? They saw each other a lot. . . and oddly enough Armin found his nights with Annie to be a taboo subject, he never brought them up with anybody, and during the day neither him nor Annie spoke a word about it. Did that make it a little more romantic? He wasn't sure. Then again, even if it was, he wasn't willing to ask Annie her opinion lest she become angry and stop their visitations.

Armin sighed before yanking off his brown jacket and grabbing for a large rag, readying himself to pull the large pot off of the fire. Placing the rag on the handle he could feel the strain in his arms as he yanked the pot off, turning to put the pot down.

That's when he came to face to face with that beautiful face that he adored so much.

"Annie!"

He jolted back; surprised that she was here before feeling a burning on his chest. In his shock he had allowed some of the boiling water to spill from the pot, right onto his chest. He winced before putting the pot down with a large clang, "Gahh! Hot!"

Annie, always quick in reflexes grabbed the rag out of his hand, pressing it against his chest to soak up the water before speaking, "Take off your shirt."

She turned to grab a cold rag while Armin unbuttoned his shirt, wincing upon noticing the red skin, raw with the burning water that was starting to spread along his stomach. He tossed his shirt onto the table nearby as Annie approached, shoving a wet cloth onto his stomach a little top hard. Armin winced again as she shook her head, "Idiot."

Armin blinked a few times, noticing the anger in her voice and her eyes. Unsure as to what he did, Armin's face softened into an apologetic smile before reaching down to hold the cloth against his abdomen, "I'm sorry. I didn't notice you were there."

"Why not? I said your name when I came in."

Armin blinked a few times, letting her words sink in before his cheeks turned bright red. Was he really so lost in thought with the idea of her that he didn't even hear her when she entered?! "I'm sorry."

Annie's hand remained unmoving, still pressing the cloth against his stomach, the cold water soothing to the burn. The anger was still in her eyes, but Armin detected it wasn't towards him. . . it was towards herself. Was she upset that she had allowed him to get hurt? "I'll be fine Annie."

She said nothing, her ice blue eyes focused on her hand, pressing the cloth a bit harder into his stomach.

"Why aren't you out celebrating?"

A dangerous question. Armin knew perfectly well that she wasn't going to be happy, knowing perfectly well that these questions were triggers. Annie didn't like her motives questioned, but Armin couldn't help it. These thoughts, his feeling towards her had been questioned by himself for several weeks now and he needed to know. Why was Annie here? Why did she care so much? Why had their library visits turned into something that Armin had looked forward to?

Armin felt something move against his hand and looked at his stomach. . . when had he placed his hand on top of Annie's? His fingers were laced between her small ones, keeping the cloth pressed against his bare skin. Annie still seemed focused on her own hand, barely breathing, allowing Armin's hand to sit gently on top of hers. He could see it in her blue eyes, those beautiful gems that held all her emotion, all her secrets, all her true feelings.

"Annie. . .?"

It was like drowning, as Annie's lips came crashing into his, shock and joy rushing over his body, the pain from his burn disappearing. Annie had stayed for him, was it for this reason specifically?

He let his eyes flicker close before using his free arm to wrap around Annie's shoulders, pulling her closer to him. She didn't pull away, much to Armin's surprise, Annie was welcoming his touch, his returned kiss. Armin didn't even know how long they stood there, their lips locked in an embrace before Annie pulled away, the look on her face shocking Armin.

Annie's face was a slight pink; her eyes staring up at him with a softness he had never seen from her, her mouth open slightly as in shock of what to say next. Taken aback, Armin just continued to stare at her, their eyes locked in an unwavering gaze.

He had always found her beautiful, but with that face, that expression, one that was filled with embarrassment, adoration and confusion Armin felt like he was seeing her in a complete new light. This, may have been a face that only he had ever seen, if not just him, very few people. Annie was always so stoic and serious, even to Armin before this had happened.

"What do you think of me, Armin?"


End file.
